Jammu, Dec 16: Inspector General of Police (IGP) Jammu Bhim Sen Tuti on Tuesday said that the Jammu and Kashmir Police lost one of its valiant personnel during the firefight with the terrorists in the Majalta area of Udhampur district.
He said that the unrelenting search operation was on to hunt down the terrorists, three in number, in the treacherous hilly forest stretch of Majalta.
IGP Jammu was responding to media queries after the wreath-laying ceremony of the SOG cop killed in the encounter in Udhampur.
The deceased SOG cop was identified as Amjad Ali Khan Pathan, son of Basharat Khan, a resident of Salvah in Mendhar of Poonch district.
With regard to the updated status of the encounter and the number of terrorists holed up in the area, IGP Jammu said, “See, it is a treacherous hilly area, and as per our initial input, there were three terrorists. And the information was absolutely correct, as when the contact was established, they were three in number. The operation is still continuing, and the terrorists, after the initial firefight, have fled towards the forest stretch. A strict cordon has been put in place around the forests.”
The IGP said that with the assistance of the Army and the Central Reserve Police Force, combing operations were being conducted to hunt them (terrorists) down.
With regard to the encounter, he stated that the operation was launched on Monday evening after a confirmed intelligence input in Soan village under the jurisdiction of Majalta Police Station in Udhampur district.
“Intelligence input proved to be authentic, and the security forces established contact with the terrorists, thus ensuing exchange of gunfire. A very small party of the Special Operations Group (SOG of Jammu and Kashmir Police) engaged the terrorists,” the IGP Jammu said.
“During the firefight, one of our boys, Amjad Ali Khan, a resident of Poonch, sustained injuries. We tried to evacuate him, but unfortunately, we lost him as he succumbed to his critical injuries due to excessive blood loss,” he said.
To pay last respects to the valiant JKP (SOG) cop, a wreath-laying ceremony was held at District Police Lines (DPL), Udhampur, on Tuesday, December 16, 2025.
Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, joined by IGP Jammu and other senior officers of Police, CRPF, and the civil administration, including the Deputy Commissioner Saloni Rai, led the wreath laying ceremony and paid floral tributes to the martyred cop.
JKP on its ‘X’ handle also paid tribute to him through a post. “Heroes never die! Nalin Prabhat, DGP, and all ranks of J&K Police, salute the martyrdom of Ct Amjad Ali Khan, who made the supreme sacrifice, while combating Pakistani terrorists, in the forest of Soan, district Udhampur. We share the pain and the grief of the martyr’s family,” the post read. Meanwhile, when the mortal remains of the killed SOG cop reached his native village in Mendhar, a large number of locals gathered to pay homage to Amjad amid a pall of gloom.
As per reports emerging from the ground, in the encounter, which erupted on December 15 evening after acting on the specific information, a joint team comprising the Special Operations Group (SOG) of JKP, the Indian Army and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a coordinated operation in the forested area, two more SOG cops had sustained injuries on Monday.
Besides, a terrorist was also believed to be injured, but further combing and search operations were hampered due to darkness and the treacherous terrain of the dense forest.
However, officially no such confirmation was made either by the Police or the Army.
Additional forces remained deployed to secure the area and prevent any possible escape routes on Tuesday as well.
However, as per official sources, no exchange of fire took place on Tuesday, December 16.
With regard to the identity of holed up terrorists, the JKP on its official ‘X’ handle described them as Pakistani terrorists, as initial inputs stated that they belonged to the proscribed Jaish-e-Muhammad terror outfit.